By Julie E. Williamson, Director of Communications and Editor-in-Chief, HSPA
Workplace conflict and communication breakdown within and across healthcare departments is a common occurrence that must be managed promptly and properly. Allowing conflict to fester will erode trust, collaboration and job satisfaction and, above all, can contribute to negative outcomes that affect patient care.
Sterile processing (SP) and operating room (OR) professionals are among the closest interdisciplinary colleagues, working together each day – case after case, shift after shift. Given the procedural volume and enduring need to stay on schedule, pressures can easily mount in both departments. This can create unintended conflict that sometimes manifests in finger pointing when problems arise, and urgent and sometimes unpleasant demands to provide items and address concerns faster than might be possible or prudent.
Fortunately, when employees and managers have the proper knowledge and apply effective communication strategies, conflicts tend to resolve quickly. Effective conflict management and a focus on developing and maintaining strong partnerships between departments is vital to an organization’s success, and policy development and ongoing training are critical components. A professional code of conduct should be established for all hospital departments and professionals, and a disciplinary structure should also be created to ensure unresolved conflicts, concerns and other issues are escalated appropriately.
Managers should strive to facilitate effective conflict resolution and communication in policy and practice on multiple fronts. Meeting with other interdisciplinary leaders is an excellent way to align communication goals, address concerns and requirements, and collaboratively work toward solutions with members of their respective teams. Managers should also empower their employees to address concerns, conflicts and demands in the moment in productive ways, such as relying on facility policies and procedures and other documented resources during the communication. If the OR requests an instrument set be turned around rapidly for another procedure to remain on schedule, for example, and the SP team is unable to meet that demand because complete, safe, effective processing cannot be performed in the shorter timeframe, it is vital to provide the rationale behind the decision. SP professionals should have access to and understand current industry standards, guidelines, IFU and best practices, which can then be shared with the OR team members making the request. It is essential that team members from both departments aim to understand one another’s reasoning and priorities, which should always be rooted in safe, high-quality patient care.
Creating a culture of accountability and understanding with the OR and SP teams fosters trust and heightened understanding, reminds Damien Berg, BA, BS, CRCST, AAMIF, a former SPD leader who now serves as HSPA’s vice president of strategic initiatives.
“All employees should seek to understand when situations or conflict arise. They may want resolution in the moment but, more importantly, want to know what will be done to ensure the same issues will not keep reoccurring,” he noted.
SP professionals must understand that the surgical team’s priority is the patient on the table and avoiding delays that could contribute to lengthier time under anesthesia – which can jeopardize patient safety. Equally important is that the OR team recognizes that the SPD’s priority is ensuring that instruments and equipment in need of processing receive the proper care and attention required to prevent unclean, unsterile and malfunctioning devices from making their way into the OR.
When the OR’s needs cannot be urgently met, this creates an opportunity for both departments to identify barriers and work together toward effective solutions. If instrument inventories cannot support procedural volume, it may be necessary to make a formal request with facility executives for additional items to meet demand. Storing sterile-packaged back-up items whenever possible can be another effective way to prevent delays in the OR, without negatively affective patient safety by rushing or skipping processing steps. In instances where interdisciplinary colleagues find themselves at an impasse, departmental managers should always be willing to step in and seek effective, collaborative resolution.
The best managers and outcomes also come from leading by good example. All managers should strive to communicate with their own teams and interdisciplinary colleagues in a professional, calm and appropriate way. They should also encourage employees to work through their differences by engaging in honest and fair discussions. Asking questions to help employees gain a better understanding of their colleague’s perspective can be a highly effective strategy.
“It really comes down to patience, professionalism and understanding,” explained Berg. “The work all healthcare professionals perform is critically important for their departments, colleagues, organizations and, above all, patients. The more everyone seeks to learn and understand, the better equipped they will be to collaborate toward effective problem resolution that will enhance service delivery, quality and safety.”
